ANGELS CAMP

Some fairly rough talk, and brutal moments, with a softer underlay of sympathy, in the story of Zubiat, sixteen, and already a veteran truant, thief, delinquent. Zubiat, whose father had died in prison, whose mother had deserted him, is sent- with his Pachuco partner- to a reform camp run on the honor system. There, where the only fences are the invisible ones within Zubiat, he is in constant conflict, one appreciated by the camp counselor Grozier who makes many attempts to contact him. But in a momentary outbreak of restlessness, rebellion, Zubiat goes over the hill, hi-jacks a truck, accidentally kills the driver, and in panic returns to the camp. There Grozier tries, and at first fails, to establish a mood of confession and catharsis in Zubiat, but when he succeeds- Grozier is on the spot between his conscience as a man of law and his concern for the boy who will get no break from any Judge. And eventually he is rewarded as Zubiat turns himself in... An authenticity here (Morrison is a Los Angeles probation officer) and an understanding of the environmental and human handicaps which create problems such as these- this has both drama and tragedy.